Database Design and Relational Theory: Normal Forms and All That Jazz

by C.J. Date

Create database designs that scale, meet business requirements, and inherently work toward keeping your data structured and usable in the face of changing business models and software systems.This book is about database design theory. Design theory is the scientific foundation for database design, just as the relational model is the scientific foundation for database technology in general. Databases lie at the heart of so much of what we do in the computing world that negative impacts of poor design can be extraordinarily widespread. This second edition includes greatly expanded coverage of exotic and little understood normal forms such essential tuple normal form (ETNF), redundancy free normal form (RFNF), superkey normal form (SKNF), sixth normal form (6NF), and domain key normal form (DKNF). Also included are new appendixes, including one that provides an in-depth look into the crucial notion of data consistency. Sequencing of topics has been improved, and many explanations and examples have been rewritten and clarified based upon the author’s teaching of the content in instructor-led courses. This book aims to be different from other books on design by bridging the gap between the theory of design and the practice of design. The book explains theory in a way that practitioners should be able to understand, and it explains why that theory is of considerable practical importance. Reading this book provides you with an important theoretical grounding on which to do the practical work of database design. Reading the book also helps you in going to and understanding the more academic texts as you build your base of knowledge and expertise. Anyone with a professional interest in database design can benefit from using this book as a stepping-stone toward a more rigorous design approach and more lasting database models.What You Will LearnUnderstand what design theory is and is notBe aware of the two different goals of normalizationKnow which normal forms are truly significant Apply design theory in practice Be familiar with techniques for dealing with redundancy Understand what consistency is and why it is crucially important Who This Book Is ForThose having a professional interest in database design, including data and database administrators; educators and students specializing in database matters; information modelers and database designers; DBMS designers, implementers, and other database vendor personnel; and database consultants. The book is product independent.

Genres: Technical, Technology, Computer Science, Programming, Textbooks

598 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Christopher J. Date (born 1941) is an independent author, lecturer, researcher, and consultant, specializing in relational database theory.
—from wikipedia

Reviews

[Helen Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not a dry database textbook. it's not beginner friendly though. It assumes you know about the basics like the NFs and the redundancies. The approach is mathematical and very much grounded on author's experience. I like how I can consider this a foundational read in developing apps even in the age of cloud.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book presents enough theory for a formal discussion, and also ilustrates with examples.

It seems to be as close to practical a theoretical book can be.

[James A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit heavy but a great read that helps to both sharpen current skills in database planning and development as well as getting a broader perspective on current perspectives of relational theory